Launched: Sony Xperia R1 and Sony Xperia R1 Plus

Japanese consumer electronics giant Sony has launched two new mid-segment Smartphones in India - Xperia R1 and R1 Plus. The company has earlier reported that both these Smartphones will be manufactured in India.

Price:

While the Xperia R1 comes with a price tag of Rs 12,990, the Xperia R1 Plus is priced at Rs 14,990. Both handsets will be available in Black and Silver colour options starting November 10 on all Sony Center and major mobile stores across India, along with e-commerce portals, Amazon and Flipkart. Pre-registration of the handsets start October 27 on Amazon.

Specifications:

Both the Xperia R1 and R1 Plus share almost identical specs and differ only in terms of storage. While the former comes with 16 GB internal storage coupled with 2GB RAM, the latter offers 32 GB internal storage and 3 GB RAM. Rest specifications remain the same.

Both handsets come with a 5.2-inch HD Display of 720x1280p resolution with a 2.5D curved glass protection. For camera, the devices have a 13MP auto focus rear camera and an 8MP front facing shooter. It is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 and offer GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, USB Type-C.

Both phones offer Dual-SIM functionality and are backed by 2620mAh battery. Weighing 154 g and measuring 146x73.2x8.89 mm, the handsets run Android N out-of-the-box and come with Android Oreo 8.0 upgrade.

Top 6 Alternatives For Google Pixel 2

Google Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL Smartphones have been facing a lot of heat lately for display and some other unexpected hardware problems. Although most of these has been acknowledged by the search giant and are likely to get fixed, some users may want to keep other options in handy. Here are the Pixel 2 and the Pixel 2 XL alternatives available in India.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 was launched in India last month at Rs 67,900. Some of the key specifications of the handset are 6.3-inch Quad HD+ Super AMOLED 'Infinity' display, octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor/ Samsung Exynos 8895, 6GB RAM, 64GB inbuilt storage, dual 12MP rear cameras, 8MP front-facing camera and 3300mAh battery.

OnePlus 5

OnePlus launched its OnePlus 5 in India in June this year priced at Rs 32,999 and Rs 37,999 for the 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM option. It has a 5.5-inch full HD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor, 64GB/128GB inbuilt storage, 16MP + 20MP rear cameras, 16MP front-facing camera and a 3300mAh battery.

Apple iPhone 8 Plus

Apple iPhone 8 Plus is the company's newest Smartphone in India. It is priced at Rs 73,000 and Rs 86,000 for the 64GB and 256GB storage models respectively. The Smartphone includes a 5.5-inch Retina screen, A11 Bionic chipset, dual 12MP rear cameras and 7 MP front cameras.

LG G6

LG G6 entered India in April this year at Rs 51,990 but later went through a couple of price cuts. It has a 5.7-inch 'FullVision' QHD+ display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 chipset, 4GB of RAM, 64GB storage, dual 13MP rear cameras, 5MP front-facing camera and a 3300mAh battery.

HTC U11

HTC U11 comes at a cost of Rs 51,990 and has squeezable sides to activate apps, just like the Pixel 2 XL. Some of the highlighted features of the flagship Smartphone are 5.5-inch QHD (2560x1440 pixels) Super LCD display, Qualcomm Snapdragon 835, 6GB RAM, 128GB inbuilt storage, 12MP dual rear camera, 16MP front-facing camera and 3000mAh battery.

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus

Samsung Galaxy S8 Plus was the first flagship by the company to enter India in April this year. It launched at Rs 64,900 at that time. Some of the key specifications of the Smartphone are 6.2-inch QuadHD+ (2960x1440) 'Infinity Display', octa-core Exynos Series 9 processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB inbuilt storage, dual 12MP rear camera, 8MP front-facing camera and a 3500mAh battery.

Oppo F5 Smartphone with 20 MP Front Camera

Chinese Smartphone maker Oppo has launched its flagship Smartphone F5 at an event in Philippines. The selfie-focused Smartphone comes in Gold, Black and Red color options. The company has launched two variants of the Smartphone with 6 GB RAM and 4 GB RAM. The Smartphone will go on pre-order on November 3 and will go on sale starting November 4. The company has already announced that it will launch the Oppo F5 in India on November 2.

The Oppo F5 comes with metal unibody and features a 6-inch full view display with 18:9 aspect ratio and full HD + resolution with 1080x2160 pixels. The display is protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass 5 on top. The Smartphone runs Android 7.1 Nougat operating system and is powered by a 2.5 GHz MediaTek Helio P23 processor.

The Smartphone comes with dual SIM functionality and offers 4GB/6GB of RAM and 32GB/64GB of internal storage. The users can further expand the storage up to 256 GB by adding a microSD card. The Smartphone comes equipped with a rear mounted fingerprint sensor and a 16 MP rear camera with f/1.8 aperture and LED flash.

The Smartphone also has a 20 MP front facing shooter with f/2.0 aperture. The front camera is powered with AI beauty recognition technology which can scan up to 200 facial recognition spots that helps in beatifying the selfie. Along with this, the front camera also offers bokeh effect. The front camera can also be used to unlock the phone.

The Smartphone measures 156.5 x 76 x 7.5 mm, is backed by a 3200mAh battery and offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS as connectivity options.

The Smartphone also comes with O-share file sharing technology which claims to make the Bluetooth file transfer 100 times faster.

Launched: Huawei Mate 10, Mate 10 Pro

Huawei unveiled its new flagship Smartphones - Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro.

Both the Smartphones sport near-bezel less display and are the company's answer to Apple's iPhone X. The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is priced at EUR 699 (roughly Rs. 53,400), and will go on sale from November in several countries including Australia, Singapore, Spain and Mexico. 

The Huawei Mate 10 Pro is priced at EUR 799 (roughly Rs. 61,000), and will be up for grabs starting November. The Chinese Smartphone maker also unveiled a Porsche Design Huawei Mate 10, which is priced at EUR 1,395 (roughly Rs 1,06,600). There's no word on the India launch date of either of the Smartphones.

The main differentiator between the two phones is the screen size and shape. The Mate 10 comes with a 5.9-inch 2560 x 1440 LCD while the Mate 10 Pro's display is a 6-inch 2160 x 1080 OLED. The other notable difference is that the Mate 10 comes with a 3.5MM headphone jack whereas the Mate 10 Pro ditches it completely.

Both the Huawei Mate 10 and the Mate 10 Pro are powered by Huawei's HiSilicon Kirin 970 SoC. Huawei is betting on AI with is new chip sets and claims that it will support features like bokeh effect in photos.

Both Smartphones come packed with a 4000mAH battery. Huawei Mate 10 comes with 4GB of RAM and 64 GB of internal storage. The Mate 10 Pro, on the other hand, will be available in two variants - 4GB RAM/64GB storage and 6GB RAM/128GB storage. Whule internal storage (up to 256GB) can be expanded on Mate 10, there is no such provision on the Mate 10 Pro. There's a fingerprint scanner on board both the Smartphones.

As far as the camera is concerned, Huawei has gone with the same module on both the devices. The Mate 10 and Mate 10 Pro comes with a dual rear camera set up -- 20-megapixel monochrome sensor and 12-megapixel RGB sensor. There's an 8MP front camera equipped on both the Smartphones. The Huawei Mate 10 and Huawei Mate 10 Pro run EMUI 8.0, based on Android 8.0.

Launched: Xiaomi Redmi 5A With Snapdragon 425

Xiaomi has launched its Redmi 5A budget Smartphone on its home turf China. The handset is priced at CNY 599 (approximately Rs. 6,000) and is already up for pre-orders. The handset comes with a metal build and takes clues from the Xiaomi Redmi 4 in terms of design.

The USP of the Xiaomi Redmi 5A is being said to be the 8-day long battery life. The handset is backed by a 3000mAh battery, which is lower than its predecessor, the Redmi 4A. Running Android-based MIUI 9 out of the box, the Xiaomi Redmi 4A sports a 5-inch HD (720x1280 pixels) display and is powered by the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 processor, clubbed with 2GB RAM and Adreno 308.

The dual-SIM Smartphone has a 13MP rear camera with f/2.2 aperture along with a 5MP front-facing camera with f/2.0 aperture. Redmi 5A also supports all the basic wireless communication such as 4G VoLTE, Bluetooth, GPS, Wi-Fi and micro USB. It comes with 16GB inbuilt storage.

Weighing 137 grams, the Xiaomi Redmi 5A can support microSD card up to 128GB. It is available in three colour variants - Platinum Silver Gray, Champagne Gold and Cherry Powder. The Smartphone measures 140.4x70.1x8.3mm and has a fingerprint sensor on board.

Xiaomi has not yet given a word if it will bring the new Smartphone to India. However, since the Redmi 4A did enter the country, customers can expect the Redmi 5A to hit the shores as well.

The Chinese tech firm recently tied up with Big Bazaar for the offline sales of its Smartphones. The first two handsets that will be made available for offline use are the Redmi 4 and Redmi Note 4.

Launched: Huawei Y6 Pro (2017)

Chinese Smartphone maker Huawei has launched a new variant of the Huawei Y6 (2017). Dubbed as the Y6 Pro (2017), this handset is listed on Amazon at EUR 189 (roughly Rs. 14,450) and is currently available in European markets of Germany, Italy and France.

Boasting of a metal body, the Smartphone houses a fingerprint sensor at the back. It comes with a 5-inch HD IPS display of 720x1280p resolution. The Y6 Pro is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 425 (MSM8917) processor coupled with 2GB of RAM.

Backed by a 3020mAh battery, the Smartphone has 16GB internal storage, a 13MP rear camera and a 5MP selfie snapper on the front.

Available in Black, Golden, and Silver colors, the Y6 Pro (2017) is a dual-SIM handset and runs on EMUI 5.1 based on Android 7.0 Nougat.

Micromax To Launch 4G Feature Phone

After Airtel and Reliance Jio, it seems that now Micromax is also set to launch a 4G enabled feature phone in India.

The company has started sending media invites for an event on October 17, where it will launch the device. As Airtel has partnered with Karbonn, Micromax has partnered with BSNL for the launch of its 4G enabled feature phone.

The invite reads, 'Micromax and BSNL cordially invite you in their endeavor to connect Bharat.' Going by the invite it seems that the company will launch the feature phone under its Bharat series of devices. The phone will support 22 Indian languages and will mainly focus on rural areas.

The company has not yet divulged any other detail about the Smartphone.

Last month Micromax launched Bharat 3 & Bharat 4 Smartphones in India priced at Rs 4,499 and 4,999.

The Bharat 3 Smartphone offers a 4.5-inch display with a resolution of 480x854p, whereas the Bharat 4 comes with a 5-inch screen with 720x1280p display. Both handsets have a 2.5D curved glass protection. The Micromax Bharat 3 is powered by a 2000mAh battery, while the Bharat 4 has a 2500mAh battery. Lastly, while the former handset has an 8GB in-built storage, the latter has 16GB internal memory.

Both the handsets are powered by MediaTek MT6737 SoC coupled with 1GB of RAM and run Android 7.0 out-of-the-box. Both handsets sport a 5MP camera on both front and back and offer a microSD card support of up to 32GB. In terms of connectivity, the devices offer Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth, USB OTG, and 4G connectivity. The Smartphones also include support for 22 Indian languages.

Moto Green Pomelo Launched In China

Lenovo-owned Motorola has expanded its product portfolio with the launch of Moto Green Pomelo Smartphone in China. The Smartphone comes in Rose Gold and Cool Black colour options and is priced at RMB 1,599 (Rs 15,700).

The Moto Green Pomelo comes with a 5.2-inch full HD display with 1080x1920 pixel resolution. The display is protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla glass on top. The Smartphone looks identical to the recently launched Moto G5S. The rear panel of the device houses the dual rear camera setup and the Moto logo.

The Smartphone runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 430 processor clocked at 1.4GHz. It offers 4GB of RAM and 32GB internal storage which can be expanded further by adding a microSD card.

For the capabilities, the Smartphone sports a 16MP rear and front camera with LED flash and f/2.0 aperture. The Smartphone is backed by a 2800mAh battery and offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS as connectivity options.

OnePlus 5 Available At A Discount Price

OnePlus has not yet offered its flagship Smartphone, the OnePlus 5, at a discounted price ever since its launch in June this year. But, for the first time ever, you can get the device at a discount of Rs 1,750 on both the 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM models. The discounted OnePlus 5 handsets can be purchased from Amazon India. The offer comes as a part of the ongoing Diwali sales.

The Rs 1,750 discount comes in the form of cashback on the OnePlus 5. However, there's a catch. Users who are buying the Smartphone using SBI debit and credit cards will be the only ones getting the cashback. 

After the cashback the 6GB RAM and 8GB RAM OnePlus 5 models, which are priced at Rs 32,999 and Rs 37,999 respectively, will have an effective price tag of Rs 31,249 and Rs 36,249.

The offer is valid on all three color variants - Soft Gold, Slate Gray and Midnight Black.

“Bharti Airtel” Focusing On 5G

Bharti Airtel, India's leading telco, has intensified its efforts on the 5G front, and to fully prepare itself for the newer technology, has now joined hands with Swedish telecom gearmaker Ericsson, following similar pacts with Finnish firm Nokia and SK Telecom. reports Danish Khan.

Under the agreement, Ericsson will help Bharti Airtel create a strategic road map for network evolution to the 5G technology standard. The Swedish telecom gearmaker will also provide its 5G-related technology to demonstrate capabilities, and help the telco identify use cases around the new technology.

The agreement between both companies was signed last week in Stockholm, Sweden. Bharti Airtel's key top executives including Abhay Savargaonkar, director networks services (India & South Asia), flew to Sweden to ink the agreement, according to sources.

Samsung soon to launch Bixby 2.0

Samsung has faced some mixed reactions for its Bixby digital assistant, specially for the Bixby Voice. But despite facing heat and even disabling the dedicated Bixby button on the new Galaxy Smartphones, the company has not yet given up on its AI. According to reports, Samsung could be launching Bixby v2.0 as soon as next week.

The new version of the digital assistant may arrive during the Samsung's developer conference on October 18 in San Francisco.

Samsung has also appointed a new head for the development of Bixby. Chung Eui-suk, the service intelligence group head, will also be responsible for developing the company's other artificial intelligence services. There is no word as to what features will Bixby 2.0 will carry.  

The South Korean tech firm introduced Bixby this year itself with the arrival of the Galaxy S8 and the Galaxy S8 Plus. However, it did not launch one of the main features of the Bixby AI, Bixby Voice. The company took several months to prepare the particular feature and finally rolled it out to users later in the year along with the Galaxy Note 8.

Several users did not like the feature and even found a way to remap the dedicated button on the handset with a different feature. However, Samsung later itself rolled out a feature that let users disable the dedicated button completely.

Recent leaks and rumors have suggested that the company may also bring Bixby to mid-range Smartphones as well.

Idea, Vodafone to launch JioPhone rival

Mobile phone users looking to upgrade to Smartphones will have plenty of options this festive season with Idea Cellular and Vodafone India set to join Bharti Airtel in offering 4G phones at effective price of around or less than Rs 1,500.

Both Vodafone and Kumar Mangalam Birla-owned Idea are in talks with domestic handset makers including Lava and Karbonn to jointly roll out a new set of Smartphones in the Rs 1,500 range to take on Sunil Mittal-owned Airtel and Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Jio Infocomm.

Airtel has announced the launch of an entry-level 4G Smartphone at an 'effective price' of Rs 1,399 in tie up with handset maker Karbonn while newcomer Jio offers its 4G feature phone Jio Phone at a security deposit of Rs 1,500.

Now, Idea and Vodafone, which are in the process of a mega merger to create the country's largest telco, are set to join the race to woo the pool of 500 million mobile users who do not have Smartphones.

Amazon launches Kindle Oasis

Amazon has launched its most advanced e-book reader 'Kindle Oasis' that features company's highest-resolution 'Paperwhite Display' and is the first waterproof (IPX8) device.

The all-new Kindle Oasis is available for pre-order for Rs 21,999 for the 8GB model and Rs 28,999 for the 32GB model (WiFi + free 3G). The device will start shipping from November 13.

'Kindle Oasis' has a battery life measured in weeks and has fast-charging capability that allows it to go from zero to fully-charged in less than two hours.

With 7-inch 300 ppi display, the device fits over 30 per cent more words per page and it has the fastest page turns of any Kindle.

The crisp and laser-quality text reads like paper with uniform display lighting and no glare, even in bright sunlight.

It has a 3.4mm display that features strongest cover glass and a new aluminium back. 'Kindle Oasis' can be immersed in up to two meters of fresh water for up to 60 minutes.

Customers can also buy covers that open like a book, automatically waking the device when opened and putting it to sleep when closed.

The water-safe fabric covers can be purchased for Rs 2,999 and come in indigo, charcoal and sandstone colors. The premium leather covers are available for Rs 3,999 and come in black ad merlot.

Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 in India

Chinese Smartphone maker Xiaomi is all set to launch its latest Smartphone in India. The company has scheduled an event for 11.30 AM today (October 10) in Delhi where it will unveil its first bezel less Smartphone in India. The company will launch its Mi Mix 2 Smartphone, which is the successor of the last year launched Mi Mix.

The event will be live streamed on Mi.com, the official website of the company.

The Smartphone will be exclusively available online on Flipkart and Mi.com and offline on authorized Xiaomi retailers.

The company launched the same Smartphone in China last month. The Xiaomi Mi Mix 2 features a 5.99-inch full HD+ display with 1080x2160 pixels resolution and 18:9 aspect ratio. Running Android 7.0 Nougat the company announced that it will also receive Android 8.0 Oreo update by December. The device is powered by a 2.4GHx octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor with Adreno 540 GPU.

The device comes with 6GB/8GB of RAM and 64GB/128GB and 256GB of internal storage. It sports a 12MP rear camera with Sony IMX386 sensor, f/2.0 aperture, 4K video recording, 4-axis OIS and dual tone LED flash. There's also a 5MP front facing camera with facial recognition.

The Smartphone measures 151.8x 75.5 x7.7 mm and packs a 3400mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 for fast charging. The device includes a fingerprint sensor placed on the rear panel and offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, NFC and USB Type C as connectivity options.

25th Anniversary of Lenovo ThinkPad laptop

Electronics brand Lenovo has launched a limited-edition ThinkPad to mark the 25th anniversary of the business laptops lineup. The company launched the first ThinkPad 700C laptop on October 5, 1992.

The special edition ThinkPad is based on current ThinkPad T470 laptop model. It sports price tag of $1899 and will be available in select countries.

The limited edition Lenovo ThinkPad shares comes with a 14-inch Full HD display and is powered by an Intel Core i7-7500U processor with NVIDIA GeForce 940MX graphics. The laptop runs Windows 10 operating system and has four different TrackPoint caps.

The device is equipped with a fingerprint sensor and has support for Windows Hello.

In terms of connectivity the laptop offers USB-C port (Thunderbolt 3), SD card reader, regular USB ports, HDMI port and ethernet connectivity.

Recently, Lenovo launched its budget Smartphone K8 in India. Priced at Rs 10,499, the Smartphone has a 5.2-inch IPS HD display and runs Android 7.1.1 Nougat out-of-the-box.

Powered by a 2.3GHz octa-core Mediatek Helio P20 processor coupled with 3GB RAM, the device offers 32GB internal storage and microSD card support. As for the cameras, the K8 has a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front facing snapper.

That Thinkpad was not launched by Lenovo but by IBM. The 700C had various problems such as pixels on the screen turning different colors permanently and IBM not replacing the screen on a then $7700 laptop.

Powered by a 2.3GHz octa-core Mediatek Helio P20 processor coupled with 3GB RAM, the device offers 32GB internal storage and microSD card support. As for the cameras, the K8 has a 13MP rear camera and an 8MP front facing snapper.

LAUNCHED: Samsung “Enterprise Edition” Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8

Samsung has launched its 'Enterprise Edition' variants of the Galaxy Note 8 and the Galaxy S8 in Germany. The new B2B products are aimed for business use.

They also come with three-year licenses for Samsung Knox security and Enterprise Firmware Over-The-Air service (E-FOTA) support. The Samsung Galaxy S8 and Note 8 Enterprise Edition also get extended manufacturing guarantee for three years. The prices of these new variants have not been revealed for now.

Apart from enhanced software, everything else stays the same in terms of specifications. As a refresher, Samsung Galaxy S8 sports a 5.8-inch Quad HD+ (2960x1440) 'Infinity Display' with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection and 570ppi pixel density. It is powered by an octa-core Exynos processor (or Snapdragon 835 in certain markets) along with 4GB RAM and 64GB inbuilt storage.

The Galaxy S8 sports the same 12MP dual-pixel camera with f/1.7 aperture and OIS that was used in the Galaxy S7. There is an upgraded front-facing 8MP autofocus camera with f/1.7 aperture. Some of the connectivity features included is Wi-Fi, NFC, USB Type-C, GPS and Bluetooth 5.0. it comes with 3000mAh battery.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 comes with a 6.3-inch Quad HD+ (2960x1440 pixels) Super AMOLED 'Infinity' display. It sports an octa-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor.

The device packs 6GB of RAM and 64GB storage (only one variant available in India) which can be expanded further by adding a microSD card. The rear camera includes two 12MP sensors, while the first one is a wide angled lens with f/1.7 aperture, the secondary camera includes a telephoto zoom lens with f/2.4 aperture. The front is home to an 8MP selfie shooter with f/1.7 aperture. It is backed by a 3300mAh battery and comes with an improved S Pen stylus.

Asus Zenfone V launched in US

Taiwanese Smartphone maker Asus has launched its latest Smartphone Zenfone V in US. The Smartphone is available in Sapphire Black color option with a price tag of $384.

The Asus Zenfone V features a 5.2-inch full HD display with 1080x1920 pixel resolution. The display is protected with a layer of Corning Gorilla Glass on top. The device runs Android 7.0 Nougat operating system and is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor.

There's also an 8MP front shooter with f/2.0 aperture and wide-angle lens for selfies.

Measuring 146.5 x 72.644 x 7.62mm, the Smartphone comes equipped with a fingerprint sensor placed on the front panel. 

The Smartphone is backed by a 3000mAh battery with fast charging support. The company claims that the phone can charge up to 60% in 37 minutes. In terms of connectivity it offers 4G, VoLTE, 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS and USB Type C.